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Dragonheart
Dragonheart is a 1996 British-American fantasy action-adventure film directed by Rob Cohen. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures and was released on May 31, 1996 in North America and October 18, 1996 in the United Kingdom. It later spawned a direct-to-video sequel, Dragonheart: A New Beginning, released in 2000, and later two straight-to-DVD prequels, Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse in 2015, and Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire in 2017. A third prequel, Dragonheart: Vengeance, is scheduled to be released in 2019. Plot In 984 AD, English Knight Bowen mentors the Saxon prince Einon in the old ways of knighthood and chivalry in hopes that the Prince will become a better king than his father, the tyrannical King Freyne. The king leads his armies upon a village of rebellious peasants, who manage to subdue and repeatedly stab him to death. Einon retrieve his father's crown and is mortally, and accidentally, wounded by a peasant girl named Kara. Einon's mother, Queen Aislinn, has him taken before a dragon in hopes of saving his life. The dragon replaces Einon's wounded heart with half of his own on the promise that Einon will rule with justice and virtue. But Einon becomes even more tyrannical than his father and enslaves the former rebels into rebuilding an ancient Roman castle. Believing that Einon has been corrupted by the dragon's heart, Bowen vows vengeance against all dragons. Twelve years later, an adult Einon has finally rebuilt his castle and, on Kara's pardon that her father be pardoned after years of slavery, "frees" him by killing him. Meanwhile, Bowen has become a skilled dragonslayer and manages to successfully slay one. His success is witnessed by Brother Gilbert, a monk and aspiring poet who decides to follow and record his exploits. Bowen tracks another dragon to its cave and chases after it. The chase and following confrontation end in a stalemate. The dragon claims to be the last of his kind and, as Bowen will be out of work by killing him, convinces him to form a partnership. This leads to the pair of them staging dragon slayings that defraud the villagers. Bowen decides to name the dragon Draco after the constellation. Unknown to Bowen, Draco is the same dragon who shared his heart with Einon, and through this connection, any pain that the other feels is inflicted upon the other. Kara, attempting to avenge her father's death, is caught and imprisoned after a failed assassination attempt. Einon, recognizing her as the one responsible for his near-death, attempts to seduce her and make her his queen. Kara escapes with help from Aislinn, who has become disgusted by what her son has turned into. Kara returns to her village and tries to rally the villagers against Einon; instead, they offer her as a sacrifice to Draco, who takes her back to his lair. Einon arrives to recapture her and gets into a swordfight with Bowen, declaring that he never believed in Bowen's ideals and only told Bowen what he wanted to hear so Bowen could teach him how to fight. He eventually gains the upper hand and nearly kills Bowen until Draco intervenes and reveals his half-heart to Einon, who flees in terror. Kara asks Bowen to help overthrow Einon, but the disillusioned knight refuses. While staging their next dragons laying, Bowen reunites with Gilbert and Kara, disgusted by their actions, unsuccessfully attempts to expose the con. The staged slaying goes poorly: as Draco plays dead, the villagers see him as potential meat and attempt to carve him up, but he overhears their intentions and flees, exposing the con. The angry villagers surround Bowen, Kara, and Gilbert, now deciding to make them their meat instead. The trio are rescued by Draco and taken to Avalon, where they take shelter among the tombs of the Knights of the Round Table. Draco reveals his connection to Einon, stating that he hoped giving the Prince a piece of his heart would change Einon's nature and reunite the races of Man and Dragon. Through this action Draco hoped to earn a place in the stars, where dragons who prove their worth go after they die. He fears that his failure will cost him his soul, and agrees to help Kara and Gilbert against Einon. Bowen experiences a vision of King Arthur that reminds him of his knightly code, and he agrees to help as well. With Bowen and Draco on their side, the villagers are organized into a formidable fighting force. Aislinn presents Einon with a group of dragonslayer, secretly knowing that killing Draco will cause Einon to die as well. The villagers are on the verge of victory against Einon's cavalry when Gilbert strikes Einon in the heart with an arrow, causing Draco to fall from the sky and get captured. Einon realizes that he is immortal as long as Draco is alive and is determined to keep the dragon alive. That night Aislinn attempts to kill Draco during the night, but she is instead stopped and killed by Einon. The rebels invade Einon's castle to rescue Draco while Bowen battles Einon. Draco begs Bowen to kill him as it is the only way to end Einon's reign, but Bowen can't bring himself to kill his friend. Einon charges at Bowen with a dagger, but Bowen reluctantly throws an axe at Draco's half-exposed heart, killing both him and Einon. Draco's body dissipates as his soul becomes a new star in the constellation with the rebels looking on. Gilbert narrates that Bowen and Kara went on to lead the kingdom into an era of justice and brotherhood. Cast * Dennis Quaid as Bowen * Sean Connery as the voice of Draco * David Thewlis as Einon * Lee Oakes as young Einon * Pete Postlethwaite as Brother Gilbert * Jason Isaacs as Lord Felton * Julie Christie as Queen Aislinn * Dina Meyer as Kara * Peter Hric as King Freyne * Brian Thompson as Brok * Terry O'Neill as Redbeard * John Gielgud as the voice of King Arthur (uncredited) Category:Films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Fantasy films Category:Action films Category:Adventure films Category:PG 13-rated films Category:Live-action films Category:1990s films Category:1996 films